Siemens targets Saudi Arabia for power projects

• 13 years ago (2011-03-02)
• Junior Isles

Middle East 310 North America 998

---

Siemens AG, which recently won orders exceeding $1 billion in Saudi Arabia, is eyeing the kingdom for power-generation projects as population growth spurs electricity demand, an executive said.

“Saudi Arabia for power generation is the biggest market and they have quite tremendous growth,” said Dietmar Siersdorfer, chief executive officer of Siemens Energy Middle East.

The nation’s power needs will triple from a current 40 GW over the next 15 to 20 years, Siersdorfer said.

Siemens is pursuing growth in emerging markets as governments add infrastructure. Orders from developing nations surged 31 per cent in the fiscal first quarter. Among several contracts, Siemens is supplying parts for a combined-cycle power plant in Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter.

Saudi Arabia’s Ras Az Zawr industrial complex, scheduled to start commercial operations in early 2014, will have 12 Siemens gas turbines, 10 heat-recovery steam generators and five steam turbines.

The company also plans to invest “millions of dollars” in a manufacturing plant that will produce gas turbines in the kingdom, the first project of its kind in the region, said Siersdorfer. The capacity will also be additional output, as opposed to a replacement of production elsewhere, he said.

“We will create an industry in Saudi Arabia around this heavy-duty manufacturing equipment,” said Siersdorfer, adding the company aimed to create a total of 4000 jobs with the project, which is scheduled to be operational in about 18 months. While catering to the local market in the beginning, the plant could export to other countries.

Siemens is also discussing the possibility of building gasification plants in the kingdom that would use crude or waste from refineries, said Siersdorfer.